Builders, not wreckers

Homer being not so nice to his neighbor.

“Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.” -Romans 15:2 NKJV

As believers, we are to build bridges, not burn them. Jesus built them; When the Jews & Samaritans could not look at each other, he sat at a well to reach out to them. When the disciples shewd the children away, he welcomed and blessed them. What society regarded as unclean, he healed and restored. To the condemned, he ate with and welcomed to paradise.

This verse charges us to seek the benefit of our neighbor, being who it be, what kind of people they are, believers or not. The opposite happens when we want to build ourselves up. Too many times we want to seek our benefit. But the Christian life isn’t about convenience and comfort; Jesus says he who wants to follow him must take up his cross. When we edify those around us, we’re spreading the gospel in action, exemplifying Christ, we’re spreading faith and true change, we’re causing interest in others and increasing our favor with the community (See Luke 2:52).

It reminds us that when we speak or act in dishonorable ways toward the people around, under or above us, we are not reflecting the life Christ modeled for us to walk in. Our testimony is of crucial importance. If our actions and language is destructive or negative, we are forgetting grace and mercy. We as Christians cannot be led by our emotions, rather, our they should follow our firmly determined Christian mind-set. How we present our lives on a daily basis has heavy spiritual weight and determines the kind of Christian life we will have.

So let us be builders, not wreckers. Let us make the decision to not sway under the fierce wind of life. Let us not forget grace and mercy when the not so sweet parts of life come. Let us always build our neighbor, reflecting and directing them to the cross, leading them to God’s love. Let us create an environment of faith, by good works, translating into a better world. Remember, you might be the only person in their life that can show Christ.

Please, don’t drink the Kool-Aid

We can be fooled so easily.

With so many distractions and attractions for us to love our own lives we can comfortably sit ourselves on a rich, leathery LAY-Z-BOY, reclining while believing that our life is full or complete by what we have while being oblivious to what we are truly missing.

We live lives that fulfill our own purposes and mistakenly believe that this is God’s purpose for our life -What an error. Of course, God does want us to be joyful and blessed for we are His children, but, when we make our world the only world, we quickly lose sight of the calling and purpose for which He has taken us out of darkness from.

Our society idolizes comfort and convenience. We are subliminally directed to the altar of this lifestyle of worship; a subconscious goal of sorts. And we work hard to conform to this model. But we are clearly instructed by the Apostle Paul in the epistle to the Romans -a culture very like our own- to “not conform to the ways of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

When we conform to this world, our vision and perspective on everything, including our beliefs on God, become puddled and tainted, no longer trustworthy to live by. The life of convenience and comfort is a hard habit to break, because it feels good. It’s warm and cuddly.

But the message is clear, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. ” (-Jesus, John 12:25-26)

We are saved by grace through faith, so that no man can boast (Ephesians 2:8), but what does it say about a “Christian” who only picks up his/her Bible on the way out to Sunday service, if they remember it?

The truth is we are starving, malnourished spiritual babies. And the worst part about this pitiful state is that we don’t even know… or care.

But it’s not too late for us, for where we are weak, He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9). The Holy Spirit brings conviction, and not for condemnation, but to spring life through repentance and faith in Jesus.

The Word of God refreshes the weary soul, brings life to deserted hearts. The Word of God is the daily bread, which we gladly consume. Re-aquaint yourself with whom Jesus sent for our sake, the Holy Spirit. He brings life. The true spiritual life that you can really love -And drink.

10 Reasons to Follow Christ

(In no particular order)
10. Eternal life (you go to hell if you don’t) -John 3:16
9. Unmerited grace & favor -James 4:6
8. Ultimate truth -John 15:26, John 8:31
7. Having an intimate relationship with the Creator of all -Hebrews 4:16
6. Freedom from Satan, sin & death. -John 8: 34-36
5. To recieve the Counselor -John 14:16,17
4. Because He loved us first. -Romans 5:8
3. He is the only road to God. -John 14:16
2. He laid down His life -1 John 3:16
1. Because He is good & God in the flesh -John 1:1-4

Check out the scriptures…

One Year Down, Many More to Go

So it’s been a year since my wife and I tied the knot.

They say the first year of marriage is the hardest. But honestly, in my case, the first year of my marriage has been a beautiful and exciting journey. Yes, there have been those hard times, disagreements and struggles, but I can only smile and thank God as I look back at the different moments of our first year.

My wife and I feel truly blessed, and with each day that passed, a renewed sense of gratitude adorns our relationship.

Our marriage has not all been roses and daisies though. Since we’ve married, we’ve followed a call to ministry and all that the chase entails. A little over our third month of marriage, Iris and I dropped our jobs, cars and home to study at a bible institute in Dallas, Texas. We’ve endured sleepless nights, homelessness, scarcity and uncertainty -and in no way is this a complaint, because amidst all this uncertainty, we’ve consistently have seen the hand of God in all circumstances.

And here we are now, expectant for what is come. And all I can say is thanks to God and say, “I love you, Iris -you are my joy, my smile and the warmth in my heart.”

Burdened

I feel so burdened with building up the church, edifying the saints. An overwhelming weight. I see so many of us christians daily waste our lives, unmoved by God’s Word, Commandments and Commission. I wish to shake us violently or throw a pail of cold water at our foolish facades. And while innumerable amounts of people, soul and hearts are being broken by the reality of this sin-riddled planet, a generation of kings and priests lay aside, blinded by futile things, plans and greed.

In the end, it’s all a matter of the heart. If you heart is in it, it’s in it. If it’s not, it’s not. In the end, God will judge all.

But now is now, and if we have a breath in our lungs and beat in our chest, there is still hope. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can rip throught the veil and let His glory manifest through our lives, and pour into the lives of others. We can still make an impact in this painful place. All we need to do is take on the Father’s heart, which He shares for those who draw near to Him.

Whoa To Me…

We embrace emptiness, not realizing its false promises, hidden greed and ruin. We are so fooled!
I was created by God but didn’t wanna be like him, I wanted to be Him -The Jack Sparrow of my Caribbean. I remember the first created being and how he shifted the blame on his Dame for food he shouldn’t have eaten and now look at us all at it eating, wearing designer fig leaves by Louis Viutton make-believing. But God sees through my foolish pride and how I’m weak like Adam another victim of Lucifer’s lies. BUT THEN IN STEPS JESUS. All men were created to lead but we needed somebody to lead us. More than a teacher, but somebody to buy us back from the darkness, you can say he redeemed us.

Every Second Counts

You make time for what you want⁴.

We are allotted 24 hours in a day -That makes for 168 hours in a week, 672 hours in a month. That’s also 1,440 minutes daily, 10,080 minutes weekly and 40,320 minutes in a month!- that’s a whole bunch of time. And if you feel as though there’s this giant time vacuum that seems to swallow up all your time until you have time for nothing else or, have a full-time job, think about this: that so-called giant vacuum counts for only less than 25% of your total monthly time. Lets put that into perspective. Imagine it’s time to be getting off work, but instead, you clock back in work another 3 sets of 8 hour shifts continually for the next 30 days. That is how much time you have throughout a month.

I know that there’s way more factors that come into play when you distribute your time; family, rest, relaxation, responsabilities and other obligations, transport time, etc. I know the feeling when there’s a ton of stuff to do, when it feels like you cannot make time stretch any further.

But in the end, you are responsable for how your time is managed⁵. Most of our issues with time is that we don’t purposely manage time but let time manage us. When our time is not managed well or being managed at all, something in your life pays the price⁶, and it pays big time. It can be family, your spouse, your children, faith, friendships, relationships, hobbies, talents, rest and even yourself. You can guarantee some of these will take the back-burner when we mismanage our time, thus, mismanaging energy.

But that’s the point: there’s a time for everything⁷. Live purposely. Practice life meaningfully. Balance your time with what is truly important⁴ . Evaluate how you are managing your time, acknowledge what has been taking the back-burner in your life, make adjustments⁸. Dedicate an hour of meaningful time to God, your spouse and children, a good friend. Ask God to help you steward these precious times, for you do not know what tomorrow holds⁹. Afterall, your whole life is made up on how you divide your time on a daily basis -hour by hour, minute by minute.

FOR REFERENCE
⁴ Matthew 6:33 | ⁵Psalm 39:4-5 | ⁶Ephesians 5:15-16 | ⁷Ecclesiastes 3:1 | ⁸Luke 14:28 | ⁹Proverbs 27:1

The Original Me

Much was deposited to the care of Man when God formed and placed Him in the garden of Eden.

“They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”  Genesis 1:26

God made man to be the ruler of the land and everything in it. He made man to govern the land, as Man was made in God’s image and likeness, and to be a representative of the Creator here on Earth. That responsability that was placed on man was foreknown prior to his creation. He was made with a purpose and the responsability to be the managers of the Earth and everything in it.

Man was responsable for bringing order to the land. God brings to the first man livestock, birds and wild animals to be named; And whatever name was placed on the animal, that was its name (Gen. 2:19). He was also responsable to watch over the lush and fruitful garden God had placed Him in (2:15). Inclusive, Man was placed in the garden to work (2:15).

Many see the garden as a place of touring, a utopia where Adam casualy sits back and takes without giving back, lacking any upkeep or work. But this text clealrly makes these claims invalid. This may be why Adam became idle, which led to his demise; conforming and becoming irresponsable and not keeping the Word of his Creator. This is a very important responsabililty that was placed on him -to be the keeper of the Creator’s Word (2:16). The blessedness, the provision and the life was in following the commandment. His task as keeper of the garden was to apply the command and live it out.

But something happened in the life of Adam. In reading this amazing creation story about our origins and the beginning of life one wonders what could have been the reason for him to turn everything over?

Twilight Inspired New Fad: The Bite

Teens around the country and abroad are showing affection in a bizarre way- Biting. Even to the point of breaking the skin of the neck to draw and taste/drink blood.

This video highlights the growing fad, which is inspired by the vampire series Twilight. Many Christians argue that watching or reading these dark romance stories is harmless, while others say it is causing damage to our youth and should be looked at seriously.

Watch the Video here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/163111/abc-good-morning-america-twilight-effect-teens-show-affection-with-love-bites?c=0:248

Twilight

By Jan Markell
defend.contend.com

Christianity Today online says that vampires are hot stuff right now even for Christians. Visit a Christian bookstore or publishing house Web site and you might be surprised how many vampire-themed books you will see. What’s wrong with the picture? Legions of people will tell you that nothing is wrong. They are, in fact, trying to sanctify vampirism.

Stephanie Meyer’s popular Twilight series is cashing in to be sure. Her four books which have sold over 17 million copies, and two movies thus far, are setting new records. To those of us who object, they will tell you that the theme of vampirism is just folklore. They aren’t in the Bible. Relax.

But Web sites indicate some are obsessed, particularly with Twilight. Meyer, who is a Mormon, has connected with pre-teens and teens and is many steps beyond Harry Potter. And defenders of Potter had their mantra too: Come on, it’s only fiction and it’s getting kids to read. What parents and others won’t admit is that these occult-laced child-sagas are also snaring some into dark practices.

So the recent Christianity Today review of this phenomenon titles their article, “There’s Power in the Blood.” As much as I dislike this magazine’s Left-leaning views on many things, they have hit on a key here. The enemy is moving in on the most sacred issue to a true Christian – the saving shed blood of Jesus Christ.

In the article, University of Richmond English professor Elisabeth Rose Gruner notes that both Christianity and vampirism equate blood with life. She states, “Humans instinctively understand that blood is life-giving. But the blood-drinking aspect of vampirism is a ‘ghastly parody of Christianity.’ While the Christian believer attains eternal life by accepting the blood freely shed on his or her behalf, the vampire achieves immortality by sucking the life out of another.”

So, in spite of what should be obvious, one Christian publishing house after another is turning away solid manuscripts for corrupted ones on this demented topic. What an example of Isaiah 5:20 with evil being called good here. This vampire fascination with blood is trying to rob the pure, atoning nature of Christ’s blood.

Christianity Today talks to Allen Arnold of Thomas Nelson Publishers. He states, “Since the story of Christianity is one of redemption, Christian fiction should depict that redemption regardless of the subject matter. Rather than flee from a genre (like vampirism), we prefer to dive in and try to redeem it through a wholly original take.” Translate that: Let’s follow the money trail.

Friend and ministry colleague Eric Barger sums it up well in his article/brochure, “Bringing ‘Twilight’ Out Into the Son”. “The storyline of Twilight is generally two-faceted. It is first ‘boy vampire meets a mortal girl’ and secondarily, ‘good vampires’ fight ‘bad vampires.’ “

Barger notes that many of the characters in the movie and book series possess supernatural abilities: Mind reading, levitation, lycanthropy, pre-cognitive knowledge of future events (mediumship), super strength, hearing, and speed. They also don’t need to eat, sleep or breathe. We’re entering the world of divination again. Read Deuteronomy 18.

If you think Christians would automatically reject this, I will share just one of dozens of e-mails I have gotten from “addicted” Christians. Melanie writes:

“I just listened to your radio program on ‘Twilight.’ I am a huge ‘Twilight’ fan. I have been obsessed since March of 2009. I have promoted it inside and outside of my church thinking it was just a good love story and an escape from reality. I am a pastoral assistant at my Baptist church and I serve on many committees. I am a born again Christian.

“I thought I would listen to your radio show and dismiss anything that you said. Instead, I am sitting here second-guessing myself. How did I fall in love with these books when I deemed Harry Potter demonic? It bothered me when Bella would discuss her soul, but I pushed that to the side and moved ahead. Now I understand that it was God showing me that these books and movies are not what a Christian should be participating in. Thank you so much for opening my eyes.”
Shannon Marchese, senior editor for fiction at WaterBrook, says that while the goal of Christian publishing isn’t to emulate worldly trends, it’s important to critically engage what consumers are already reading. She says, “Christian vampire fiction allows readers to experience the mythology in a new way.” I think she means if something is selling really well, let’s offer folks more and more of it and further cash in on the craze.

So, can we find God in all of this? That is, in the books, movies, reviews, discussion questions for church youth groups (yes, you read that right). Harry Potter fans will point to god-like images and comparisons all throughout the book series, so why not see God in Twilight, too? Beth Felker Jones writes in her book, Touched by a Vampire: Discovering the Hidden Messages in the Twilight Saga (Multnomah 2009), that what is the most worrisome issue is that the books and movies are full of spiritual themes.

Twilight deals with the longing human beings have to be transformed, to be set free from our limits and weaknesses. She says, “All of this could open up quite a conversation about the gift of salvation.” Oh, really? I guess I’m not connecting the dots but admittedly I don’t want to! Come on now, do you want to equate salvation with vampirism? Just the opposite is true in the books and movies. Bella is willing to sell her soul (and thus her salvation) for Edward.

Eric Barger states in his article/brochure that “Twilight” has been defended as a positive book because it contains no sex, seems to preach abstinence, and includes only mild swearing. He states, “This is simply a lesser-of-the-two-evils approach and while I readily admit that this romantic-styled chick flick is far less ominous than a large number of the books and movies out there today, how can a biblically-minded Christian endorse it as acceptable for a 12-year old?”

Barger says, “No matter how dreamy Hollywood may present Edward Cullen (the chief vampire) to be or how obsessed some junior higher may become with him, Twilight is nothing short of Satan’s cloak of evil appearing to be good.”

He concludes, “Until the final battle has been fought and the Lord has come with His everlasting and perfect peace, Satan will attempt to prevail through manipulating those whom he may. Stephenie Meyer is just one in a long line of those to whom, without their understanding it, the Evil One has paid big money for their services. Twilight is more than mere entertainment. To some it has become every bit as important and as captivating as a religion.”

Never in my lifetime have we had to contend for the faith 24/7. What was once blatantly evil is suddenly ok. Spiritual applications can be made from worldly scenarios. Up is down, down is up, right is wrong, wrong is right, and we’re all drinking tea with the Mad Hatter!

This sounds like what might happen in the last days. Are you listening for the sound of the trumpet?